Givin' it the ol' college try
by Canadino
Summary: "We've got a mystery to solve!" College!AU, minor Lancelot/Gwen, squinty Arthur/Merlin


**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the story idea and only some of the witty remarks. I own so little; so please don't steal.**

Background music: -

[=]

givin' it the ol' college try

"Arthur, put your things down; we're going to go solve a mystery!"

Arthur Pendragon doesn't look away from the computer screen he has his eyes trained on, his hands ceasing their frantic dancing over the keys to resist the urge to clench into the fists and plunge into the closest human being – which would be Merlin. "The door was closed for a reason," he says slowly, hoping his tone of voice will be ample warning before he shed blood.

"Was it?" Merlin asks absently, and dismisses it just as quickly. Arthur finally tears his eyes from his laptop and turns around to look at his excited visitor. Merlin is practically dancing on the balls of his feet, his eyes shining and his hands clasped together in fervent enthusiasm. It's sickening. "Sorry," he says quickly, smoothing over that bump carelessly, "but listen; we've got to go now. The lady in white only comes at a certain time at night and I don't want to miss it this evening, please!"

Arthur has had the beginnings of a headache since he began his paper (which is due tomorrow, which he has pushed off because of entire fencing competition and soccer practice), but now the steady, numbing pounding has started to sound in his temples. Merlin is not helping. "First of all…_we_?"

"Oh, yeah. Me, Morgana, and Gwen. And you."

"Right, now we've got the entire team assembled, it makes perfect sense," Arthur says, giving Merlin an incredulous look. Apparently the idiot believes him because he nods eagerly. "In your delusional world, perhaps. Would you care to tell me _what_ exactly is more important than my economics term paper?"

For a moment, Merlin digresses to give him a disapproving face. "Term papers are due tomorrow, Arthur."

"So I am aware. Now leave."

"No. Listen." Merlin's face gets the fantastical look he always paints on whenever they're speaking something about magic or the occult. You would think a college second year would be beyond the point of childish stories and superstitions, but no – Merlin will actually scoop up a black cat if it's in his path and coo at it and then walk on as if the animal could actually bring him luck. "So I work at the library…"

"Yes, I am very well aware of that. You practically drown yourself in books on a daily basis as it is."

"Shut it. So a couple days ago, I was in charge of locking the library up when it closes at midnight but as I was walking back to my dorm, I remembered I forgot to switch off the lights in one of the reading rooms so I doubled back and the door was still locked when I got there…"

"Big mystery there."

"_Shut it_, I'm not finished. I unlocked the library and as I was making my way to the back where there was still the lit reading room, I saw _her_." He shuts his mouth and widens his eyes for emphasis, but Arthur thinks it only makes him look constipated. "There was a _woman_ in the library dressed in white and she was _gliding_ along the floor with a boy!"

Arthur stares at him. "And so now you think the library on the west side of campus is haunted."

"_Yes_, don't you see?" Merlin wrings his hands and grins despite himself. "The library was _locked_ when I went back, and there is _no_ other way to get in! And I know what you're thinking, but I'm the only student besides the fourth year librarian (who was out attending some club activity today) who has keys the library and the faculty has keys too but I just checked and there's no one matching the description of the lady and besides, none of them have kids." Merlin flourishes his hands. "Now try and explain that scientifically, Arthur. It just can't be done."

"Merlin, I know what you're thinking, but listen to me. For once in your life. There probably is a good explanation for it. And I will personally _help_ you realize that explanation _after_ I'm finished with my term paper."

"No, no, I can't wait. There just isn't any other good time for both Morgana and Gwen to do this and they both want to see it." Merlin looks so frantic Arthur almost agrees to spare him from going into shock, which he is starting to look like he will. "I know you don't believe in magic, but we need someone to help us out if we get caught…it's not exactly alright for undergraduates to be sneaking around the library after hours."

"Oh, so now I'm only useful for your schemes as a getaway driver."

Merlin looks at him as if it has been obvious all along. "Well, yes," he agrees. "What else are you useful for?"

"You can't speak to me like that, Merlin. I'm the university's president's _son_."

"That skipped my mind," Merlin says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "It's not like you've been saying that every single waking moment. And you told me you don't want any special treatment because of it, so I'm not giving you any. Now come on. The girls are waiting for you."

"I've got a term paper to write!" Arthur shouts, gesturing roughly at his computer.

"I _promise_ you I'll help you write it if you come with us," Merlin bargains, knowing his literature and writing skills are the envy of many. He's the only one in many years of the university that has been able to skip the mandatory first year writing forum. It's why he's taking Classical Literature even though that only leaves him the possible job opportunities of professor or researcher. For some reason, Arthur thinks it's appropriate for Merlin to wear tacky sweaters and wire-rimmed glasses. It suits him. "You know I can write good papers. Not that I'll be writing it _for_ you. But I'll help you. Now please?"

Arthur really doesn't want to do this. It's late, he should really be focusing on his paper, and even if he could get them out of trouble by sweet-talking his way out of the rules, his father will still give him a stern talking-to afterwards. Morgana will get out of any trouble because she's a girl (and unrelated by blood), which is the main reason they're trying to rope him into their scheme. He looks longingly at the laptop on his desk, waiting for the next line of the Paper of Rubbish.

"_Alright_," he acquiesces, and before Merlin can begin celebrating, he raises his hand. "But I'm coming back here to write this paper and I'm taking you with me before classes start tomorrow, and if I do not pass because of this, I will personally make sure you are expelled from his institution."

"Deal, deal," Merlin sings, positively bubbling with victory. "I promise you it'll be worth it!" Arthur begrudgingly follows him out of his room into the hallway, which is, to his surprise, empty.

"Where are Morgana and Gwen?" he asks. "I thought you said they were coming."

"They _are_, ah, coming. It's just I went to get you first." Merlin gives him a dazzling smile. "Don't you feel special?" When Arthur gives him a look that signals him _ten seconds before liftoff, and that means the Merlin rocket_, he laughs nervously and fishes out his phone from one of the many pockets his jacket has. "I'll text them and have them meet us, yeah?"

[=]

Arthur meets Merlin in their first year biology class because he comes in late and he gets shackled as the lab partner of the only remaining student. Personally he isn't too interested in science but it's a first year class and his father is invested in making him the 'model student' so he's looking forward to pulling things out of his arse to pass the class. The wiry dark-haired boy gives him a wide grin at their lab station and Arthur remembers thinking what sort of prat wears loose scarves like that to a place where a loose spark could set the thing aflame.

"Hi, I'm Merlin Emrys," the boy says, extending his hand casually. Arthur doesn't take it. He stares at him instead.

"Your name is _Merlin_."

"Yeah! My parents really liked those old legends." Merlin smiles despite himself. "They always read their favorites to me before bed when I was younger. I think it's the reason why I really like literature. I heard the literature program here is very good. I'm looking forward to taking a lot of classes in that department."

"Right," Arthur says, turning to the front of the class as the professor begins a lecture.

"You didn't tell me _your_ name," Merlin reminds him.

"Arthur."

"You don't have a family name?"

"Pendragon, okay? It's Pendragon." The outburst makes everyone turn to look at him. The professor gives him a disapproving look and he sulks for the rest of the class. Somehow, this translates to thick, daft Merlin as "friendship" and he follows Arthur around chatting his ear off after class. This isn't high school, so Arthur doesn't shove him and tell him to leave him alone. He can send the boy off diplomatically.

For all his political lessons, he hasn't been able to shake Merlin off, though. Even after Merlin learns of his status as the golden boy of the university, he doesn't leave him alone – in fact, he gets even more casual and disregarding. He invites Arthur out for fish and chips. He criticizes the suits his father, Uther, buys him. And then, when Arthur thinks Merlin couldn't get any dumber, he begins to show his love for magic and how it's _real_.

"How else can you explain the unexplainable?" Merlin reasons. "It's got to exist."

Merlin's got a friend, also in their year. Her name is Gwen and she's nice and decent enough, if not a little stalwart. Her father is a mechanic who wanted his daughter to know more than spark plugs and how to change the oil of a car so he worked hard to send her to school. She's a scholarship student. She spends her weekends volunteering at local charities and non-profits and she wants to be a social worker.

Merlin introduces her as his friend he met during orientation week on their first year; he had been trying to find the same building as she and as they ran around campus getting more lost and frustrated, they struck up a conversation and realized they both came from similar middle-class backgrounds (the university is famous for housing old money) and struck it off right away.

"You're Arthur Pendragon?" she asks when they first meet. She's got a golden complexion, despite her dark skin, and even with her middle class accent, she's _lovely_. Arthur imagines uni life with her his princess to his prince. "The president's son?"

"Yes," Arthur says, oozing charm, ignoring Merlin's amused expression.

"I see," she laughs. "So you probably go eat crumpets with your father and his board and talk about politics, huh?"

"Then play polo," Merlin supplies helpfully. They dissolve in gales of laughter. Despite wanting to date her, Arthur feels a pang of hate toward her, and the feeling of wanting to strangle Merlin resurrects itself, as it does every five minutes. Still, Gwen is dazzling and wonderful enough for Arthur to take her out a couple times but when he asks her to be his girlfriend, she _refuses_ him.

"Ah…sorry about that. I probably should have told you, but I'm already seeing someone."

And if that isn't bad enough, Arthur finds out soon later that she is also friends with Morgana, his irritating step-sister. Morgana isn't her _real_ name of course (not everyone is a literature nut like Merlin's parents); but on her uni forms, she put her maiden name as her middle initial (A for Avalon) and the fool doing records ignored the space and the period and collapsed Morgan and A together to make Morgana. The mistake, in Morgana's mind, makes her name sound much more mysterious, so she keeps the nickname.

"So I heard you asked Gwen to be your girlfriend," she gloats, flouncing into his room a couple days after the shattering refusal. Arthur doesn't have the heart to expel her from the room. It's been trampled on and he's trying to mend it. "Just goes to show that not everyone is in love with the _royal Arthur Pendragon_." Her air quotes make it much more unbearable.

"How would you know," he mutters, figuring she probably heard it around the grapevine. After all, not like he's bragging, but he's a pretty hot name on campus.

"She's my friend," Morgana says, her smirk still shining full force. "I like her. She's like a breath of fresh air. Imagine! She didn't know of half the brands I had in my closet. What a sweetheart. She knows of a lot of things that are interesting. You wouldn't think it in my nature, but I went to a pub with her the other day…" She realizes she is digressing. "But Arthur, chin up. This is good for your character."

"If you've come to wallow in my misery, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Morgana tosses her dark hair about like the model she is. "Well, fine, but you can come to me with your personal life any time, dear step-brother. It's what sisters are for." She may have let out a laugh at the end of that sentence (or maybe it was as laugh _track_). Arthur chases her out before she can add salt to the wound.

So while Arthur initially thinks that going to university will give him friends of much higher caliber, his foolish choice to actually engage in a conversation with Merlin (and arrive late to class) has forced him to regretfully consider these people his friends. He attempts to distance himself, but eventually someone will come up to him and ask him if Morgana is single (she's a man-eater) or one of Gwen's many girl friends asks him to give her a message since they are close or Merlin will shove a book in his face and say the proof that magical creatures exist is so enormous he should stop ignoring facts. It's enough to make him consider transferring, if his father wouldn't have his hide if he did so.

[=]

Lance rolls over in bed, throwing a loving arm around Gwen's waist. "Sometimes I don't know what to think," he murmurs into her hair, dark and sweet around his nose, "when I see you texting away at your phone after sex."

"It's not what you think," Gwen laughs, her face glowing from the cell phone's light. It's bright in the dark room and not helpful in Lance's quest for sleep. The bed is warm (toasty even, from what they've finished doing), the sheets are soft, and all he wants to do is cuddle and then wake up late with a kiss from Gwen and go to class. The gods don't even grant him this. His girlfriend sits up, taking her warmth with her. "It's one of Merlin's plans again."

Lance would groan and accuse her of making eyes at the boy if he didn't know Merlin so well. Girls are probably the last thing in that kid's mind and to be honest, Lance really couldn't see Merlin as a rival to anything. He's much too considerate for that. The problem is Gwen really loves her friends so she's willing to do anything for them and Merlin comes up with pretty strange things to do. "What's he up to this time?"

"You know about the ghost in the library I told you about?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, Merlin told me about it, naturally. He's been talking about taking us to see it and I guess he wants to do it tonight."

"He's very good at planning."

"Yes," Gwen sighs. "I'm afraid he wants me _now_. Somehow he roped Arthur into it and Arthur's in a rush."

"Sometimes I wonder why he bothers with you guys," Lance says, burying his face in his pillow. Arthur is his soccer teammate and frankly, he doesn't seem to be the kind to spend time with 'ordinary folk'. Arthur spends most of practice complaining about Merlin. It's half of why Lance knows what he knows about Merlin.

"People can be pretty extraordinary," Gwen agrees, pulling on her panties and fastening her bra. "I'm so sorry, Lance. I'd love to stay, really, but I'm afraid Merlin will cry traitor if I don't humor him this time. I'll take a rain check for this, alright?" Lance grunts as if he disagrees, although he's pleased at this promise. Gwen never breaks her promises. "Good boy. I'll be back when we're done." She gives him a kiss after pulling on a shirt and closes the door gently so he can have his sleep.

Lance grins in the darkness. He really does have the best girlfriend.

[=]

"I was doing some reading on the library," Morgana says, walking with purpose in a pair of purple heels. No outfit is complete without heels with Morgana. Gwen and Merlin are listening to her intently. Arthur attempts to block her out. "_Apparently_, there was a girl in the first few decades of its opening who committed suicide because she had been left by her fiancé and she could not finish her course in time and the bank was going to take away her parents' house because she couldn't afford her education." She loves being listened to. Arthur watches her toss her head about, but there's genuine interest in her story as she tells it well.

The four of them are walking through the courtyard, taking a shortcut between all the buildings of the university to get to the library. It's dark and late, although there are still groups of students milling about and chatting. It's busy for a Thursday night. Arthur hopes they never run into someone they know. God forbid they run into _Gawain_ and have him taunt Arthur tomorrow in class for running around in the dark with the so-called 'occultists' he scorns. He's personally surprised Merlin didn't call Gawain to come with them; Gawain, like Gwen, liked to indulge Merlin in his ideas.

"Will said," Merlin gushes, speaking of his crass roommate Arthur firmly dislikes (and the feeling is mutual), "that the library was built on an old Druid burial ground so maybe there's more than one ghost! Did that girl have a son?"

"The story didn't say," Morgana admits, and for all her airs of sophistication and well-breeding, she actually sounds _excited_ like Merlin at this prospect. "Maybe she made friends with one of the Druid children?"

"Didn't the Druids practice magic?" Gwen asks, using the sacred word. At this, both Merlin and Morgana's eyes light up and they begin to share various facts with Gwen. Arthur shoves his hands in his pockets and wills himself to melt into the darkness of the night.

"Hey, Arthur!" Arthur starts visibly. A girl is walking toward him, a girl with luscious golden curls. "Hey, Morgana," she adds after a thought, although she pays Merlin and Gwen no mind. "Are you guys going to Percival's party tonight?"

"Not tonight, Vivian," Arthur says awkwardly. She blinks her baby blue eyes at him as she passes. "I'm…um…busy." He feels Merlin ready to chime in _we're going to solve a mystery_ and hopes Vivian doesn't stop to talk. Thankfully, she doesn't.

"Oh," she says, looking disappointed. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then, Arthur." She continues on her way, shaking her hips side to side as she walks. Arthur would fancy her, if she wasn't a daddy's girl and defined by her money.

"Come on, Arthur," Merlin says, after Vivian is farther away. Now Morgana even looks amused. "_Lady_ Vivian is a pretty girl. Give her a chance."

"Prettier than Freya ever was," Arthur grumbles, seeing Merlin bristle at the mention of his old flame. Freya had gotten Merlin head over heels during their first year and broke his heart when she transferred to be somewhere closer to home due to a medical condition. It had been one of the few times Arthur had seen Merlin consumed with something other than magic, but now he had thrown himself more into magic; Freya had claimed ancestry with the Druids.

"Don't be mean," Gwen chastises. The library looms up in front of them, dark and foreboding. It's possibly one of the oldest buildings on campus, with gothic architecture and gargoyles that Merlin likes to spout about. The large, oak doors open, as they are always open, and Merlin swipes his ID card at the computer inside and types in a code to let them all in.

"What about the security cameras?" Gwen whispers, because it's deathly quiet and the need to keep it that way is heavy.

"They're not on half the time," Merlin dismisses equally as softly. "Anyway, they barely even archive the tapes and I can always dispose of it eventually." He beckons them toward the stairs. "Come on; the ghost is on the fifth floor where all the reading rooms are."

"You don't even know if it's a ghost," Arthur retorts, surprised at himself for whispering along with them. He knows as well as they do there's no one at the library at this time (fifteen minutes after hours) and even if it _is_ a ghost, whispering isn't going to do anything.

"It _is_," Merlin hisses, rushing them along the stairs. "Watch your step."

"What are we going to do with the ghost?" Morgana asks breathlessly, making care not to clatter too much with her heels. She's such a pro at it that she can tie her hair up in the process of taking the stairs two at a time. "Exorcise it?"

"We need to talk to it first," Merlin says knowingly. "We should find out why it hasn't been able to find eternal rest and help it find peace with itself." Arthur rolls his eyes.

The fifth floor is reference materials. Thick sets of encyclopedias and old books line the shelves. Because there are such important and expensive tomes, it isn't open like the other floors – the stairs come to a hallway, where the fifth floor is guarded by a door with a lock. Merlin fumbles with the key in his pocket.

"I could tell on you," Arthur sulks, starting to regret leaving his econ term paper. "Misusing university property."

"You'd be an accomplice," Morgana reminds him annoyingly. Merlin grins at her and undoes the door like a ninja; pushing the door open with only the slightest _whoosh_, the four poke their heads into the room.

It's a large, vast room with tables and chairs and aisles and aisles of books. The reading rooms are in the back. Windows cast a soft moonlit glow over the many spines and oak fixtures. Arthur hears Gwen gulp.

"She was over at the mythical animals section," Merlin whispers, making a scene of taking his shoes off. Arthur is about to order him to put them back on as he stands in his stocking feet, but watches disbelievingly as Morgana removes her heels and Gwen slips out of her moccasins. They stare at him expectingly and Arthur throws his hands up and pulls off his sneakers. They pad across the cold floor like detectives.

"What if the ghost is malicious?" Gwen almost squeaks. "What if it attacks us?"

"You can't possibly believe in this," Arthur shoots. But Gwen's anxious face tells tons. She's spending too much time with Merlin. He knew he should have tried to take her from Merlin's company by force. Morgana could play his silly games, but Gwen was too good a girl to waste away like this.

"She's there!" Merlin almost chokes on his words. Arthur follows his finger – and _there is a woman_. She's dressed in a long, shimmery white gown that glows. Her hair is golden and falls down her back. Her back is toward them as she looks at the covers of the books in front of her. Next to her is a young boy, perhaps about ten, holding her hand and looking at the books too.

"Oh my god," Morgana manages, and she clutches at Gwen. Arthur feels Merlin grip his arm and he is about to shake him off – but _there is a woman_.

"Well?" Arthur whispers, as they cower behind a shelf and stare. "Go talk to her!"

"You start," Merlin whimpers, and it's clear this is the first time he's really had a good, long look at her. The woman doesn't appear vicious, and she doesn't have any visible weaponry on her. Morgana and Gwen are holding each other like terrified sisters at a sleepover. Honestly, are they all wimps? Arthur doesn't know much about ghosts, but he can see that the two figures have their feet firmly on the ground and the woman's hand is solid and pulling a book out of the shelf.

"Excuse me," Arthur says, his voice loud in the silence and startling. The woman turns with a start; the boy jumps. Merlin lets out a groan. Arthur strides to the woman confidently, hearing Gwen, Morgana, and Merlin skitter behind him. "I am Arthur, this is Gwen and Morgana and the idiot is Merlin. What are you doing in here at his hour? The library's closed."

"I could ask you the same thing," the woman demands. Her eyes are piercing and Arthur sees the gown is only a simple silk robe. The boy is wearing a printed shirt with a cartoon on it and he's clutching a brown stuffed dog. "Students roaming out late at night."

"Who are you?" Merlin has the courage to ask hiding behind Arthur's left shoulder.

"My name is Anna, although some have called me Morgause, I suppose, for my apparent similarities with the sorceress of legend. However, I am Professor Fox to you." She studies the four closely. "How did you four get in? The library is locked."

"That's none of your business!" Merlin cries. "Why did you lock the door behind you? What are you doing?"

Morgause looks disinterested. "I am simply too busy with the first years I teach during the day to do my research and the library isn't open later than midnight, so I come to study these books. Students aren't supposed to be here, so I lock it to make sure no one comes in when they're not _supposed to_. The faculty has the keys to the libraries, after all."

"But…but…you don't come up on the records," Merlin says stupidly.

"I am relatively new to the university community, so I probably have not. I keep asking the secretaries at the office to update the servers so my students can send me their emails." She sniffs, holding her book. "The incompetence is unbelievable."

"The university's president is my father," Arthur tells her testily.

"Then I hope you shall put in a good word for me," Morgause replies.

Gwen, now assured that there is no ghostly activity, kneels down to smile at the boy. "He's adorable," she coos, easily wooed by children and small animals. Morgana comes down to see him too. The boy grips his stuffed dog but stares at them with bright green eyes. "Is he your son?"

"He's my ward," Morgause says dismissively, although relatively more polite toward the girls than Arthur and Merlin. "His name is Mordred."

"What's with all these old names?" Arthur mutters under his breath in Merlin's ear. "It's like you're gathering them all to you." Merlin gives him a crooked smile.

"Now if you're all finished with your questions," Morgause announces, as she turns back to the boys with acid in her eyes, "I'd like to return to my research."

"And we would have done it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!" Mordred chimes, and he makes Gwen and Morgana giggle. Mordred smiles at them finally, and this, by extension, means they are also Morgause's friends. She wishes they would come by and have a spot of tea with her sometime. Arthur sighs exasperatedly and loudly and drags Merlin off with him to finish his term paper. Gwen excuses herself quickly to return to her beloved's side.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you," Morgana apologizes when they're all gone. Mordred is comfortable enough for her to ruffle her hair as she stands up. "My friends, they can be…a handful."

"Understandable," Morgause says. "You're all young. If I may ask, what are you studying?"

"I actually don't know…" When she tells this to her friends, it doesn't seem to be a big deal but suddenly it seems shameful. "I mean, I'm considering a lot of things."

Morgause nods understandingly. "Perhaps I can tempt you to study mythical creatures with me. You might like it." Her eyes are blue, but for a second in the light they look gold.

Morgana manages a smile. "I'll try it."


End file.
